Q: I am trying to spray Rudd pre-catalyzed lacquer on peppermills I make out of laminated padauk and maple. The first one I had problems with the lacquer just building up around the open grain and not really filling it. When I sand and try to buff I just fill the pores with buffing compound. Do you have any recommendation as to how to fill the grain on these mills so that the lacquer is flat when I sand and buff it?
A: Sure. Use pore filler, which is made specifically for that job, prior to finishing. The particular one I would recommend is Timbermate (http://www.timbermate.com/). It comes in about fourteen different colors and can be further tinted with any type of coloring agent. I’d use artist’s acrylic colors, but universals will also work. Timbermate comes the thickness of putty, and you reduce it with water to a working consistency. For pore filling, I find something around the consistency of half and half or light cream works best.
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